Thanksgiving day 1991 vs. Chicago he took a toss to the right side and made the most physically amazing run in the history of football with out question.
I like listening to Barry speak. He is so humble. He never gloats, never talks bad about anyone, always owns his speech and actions. Gretzky was the only other one I ever knew who could do that as great as he was. It is all in your upbringing. However there is something very unique in any individual who is able to practice it. Especially at the level these guys attained. Always being called the greatest players ever. Not once did either of them ever let it affect who they were. Not once did they ever forget where they came from. This my friends is gratitude at its finest. We all know it and we all try to be like this but if you want to learn from the very best at it Barry is the top. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are very good at it too but Barry is #1 in being a top human being. I have nothing but total respect for him.
Detroit native here. seeing the adult men score TD's now and all act like fucking 1st graders is weird to me. Barry was a class act. EVERY touchdown, no celebration, walk over to Ref, calmly hand him the ball. what a fucking legend!
Just because you're quiet, doesn't mean you're a good person. Marvin Harrison was very low-key, humble in aspect, and simply tossed the ball to the ref after he scored also. But, in them mean streets of Philly, he's got more than one body on his gun...
How many professional athletes would take themselves out - their rookie season - to protect their mentor getting the Rushing Title? How many professional athletes made the runs, the moves, the incredible plays that Barry did, and just hand the ball to the ref? How many professional athletes, at the end of their career - take themselves out of the game, rather than set the all-time rushing record? To quote Emmett Smith: "If Barry had kept playing, we'd all be chasing his record, and nobody would have gotten it." This is a once in a lifetime GREAT person who also happened to be one of the BEST athletes to ever play professional sports.
+Gmail User I remember being pissed as a child that he didn't go for the rushing title. The Lions were always terrible and that was the only thing we could celebrate that year. I remember his offensive linemen being pissed also. A rushing title isn't only for the running back it's also for the offensive line.
+Gmail User Yes. Barry Sanders wasn't just the most electrifying, greatest RB..... he was also probably the best human being to ever play in the NFL. When you think of a role model..... it's Barry Sanders.
Barry is just a class guy. Just like Walter Payton was also. But Barry was in a whole different stratosphere compared to anyone before, during, and definitely after.
and yet, despite all his loss yardage, he still took the rushing crown 4 times in his career, and a pro bowler in each of his season in the NFL! :P Loss yardage is testament to the team's offensive line, bro, not to the RB. Coz no RB is running towards own goal line.
You guys need to check your sheet. If a running back has to go backwards it's for at least two reasons, either the defense was blitzing, or the offensive line wasn't moving people off the line of scrimmage. Do some homework, Barry's offensive line was always horrible.
He's the best and will always be the best RB of all time. Even as a Vikings fan I feel AP can't compare to him. I sure miss watching Sanders play. I'll just binge watch all his highlights for now. Love you Barry!
I'm from Detroit and grew up watching and idolizing Barry. In August of 1999 my girlfriend and I were heading to Spain for college. A few days before we left, there was a picture in a local newspaper of Barry at DTW airport & the caption said he was headed to London, which is where we were headed first before moving on to Spain, and I thought "man, how cool would it be to run into him there?" (not really thinking there was even a chance of that happening). Sure enough, we flew into London, spent the night, then the next day we were at Heathrow to catch the train to Gatwick and we ran right into him. I had my Detroit Tigers hat on, so when he saw me approaching him, his eyes widened and I could tell he was thinking "I hope this isn't some dumb reporter" (or something like that). I walked up to him, shook his hand, and told him he was my idol growing up, then I walked away. We had about an hour to kill before the train arrived so we took a seat...Barry came over and asked if he could sit down and proceeded to ask why we were overseas, etc., and even offered to help us with our bags. Pure class. I made no mention of football, nor did I ask him any questions re: his retirement because I knew he was over there so no one would bother him (at least for a week or so), and I think he really appreciated that. Thankfully, my girlfriend was astute enough to, in very a cute manner, ask if we could have our picture(s) with him, he obliged, and he signed my AAA travel document envelope. Point of the story...for 10yrs I watched this dude in awe, but could never get near him, neither at games nor practices, then of all places, I met finally him in London.
In 1992 my brother-in-law who lived in Dayton, Ohio. called and said he couldn't use his upcoming home Bengals tickets vs. the Detroit Lions and offered them to my wife and I. We traveled up to Cincy from Louisville on a blustery day and watched Barry Sanders almost single-handedly beat the Bengals. The Bengals defense had nothing on Barry that day, he took them to school, demonstrating why and how he had won the Heisman, sad day for the Bengals but I was glad I got to see one of the greatest runners in the game at his best. He never danced or acted out after a big play (which was almost every carry) or touchdown, calmly trotted over and handed the ball to the Ref. and trotted back to the huddle or his seat. A real quality Human being.
What a completely selfless and admirable awareness campaign from not only one of the truly great athletes of all time but better yet... a very good man 🦸♂️.
@DOOM! Just saw your comment but please tell me how Emmitt is average yet he did everything well, leads the league in rushing, td's? You sound like you're trolling.
@DOOM! Yes Barry was special but he also has the record for loss yards in his career, wasn't a blocker, came out on goal line situations. The hate for Emmitt surreal...
He is my favorite athlete of all time. What an amazing talent, and even better person. The humility this man displayed throughout his stardom will likely never be seen again.
I have watched a lot of football, baseball, boxing & basketball. I respect many athletes for how well they played & how good a human being they are/were & I love & respect none of them more than Mr. Barry Sanders. One amazing & wonderful man.
I, like most Americans, absolutely love football. Understanding that we admire the great players of our own generation, Barry Sanders continues to be the greatest football player I personally have ever seen play football at any position-you can have anybody else you want-I'll take Barry. The epitome of a nice guy that finished first. I always tell young attorneys to "act like you've been there before..." Barry acted like that the first touchdown, the second touchdown and the 50th touchdown. #20 is #1 and probably will always be in my book.
I'm a Vikes fan, but Barry is my all-time favorite player. I always wanted to be a running back when I was younger, I am pretty sure I was the most elusive kid in the neighborhood. My elementary school was a block away and all the neighborhood kids would come together and play football together. Like bloody nose, no equipment tackle football. You couldn't go after the QB until about 5 seconds. We had no O-line, just like Barry, but we made it work.
the most exciting running back to ever play the game. great person, super strong, fast, nimble and one of a kind. The best ive witnessed, even without a line.
My Idol growing up and playing football. I wanted to be just like him. when I scored a touchdown I would look for the ref to give him the ball just like Barry. He is the greatest. He knew the right time to leave the game.
His humility still sets the standard in my book. I grew up 40 miles from Wichita and my High School coached was at North with Sanders. I saw him play in Manhattan Kansas in 1986 against KSU he was returning punts and kicks and he played a few series at RB. I was 14. I remember watching Lions games just to see him play. He has the most yards going backwards which subtracred from his total yards which is interesting. He was going to play at Wichita State but they ended their program the year he graduated. His junior year at North he played defensive back until an injury sidelined the starter at tailback. He then won the city league rushing title in only 6 games. His agent wanted him traded to the Chiefs after the Lions downhill slide following the 1991 loss to Washington in the NFC championship kept in for 6 years. Sanders felt torn not wanting to demand a trade and he retired after 10 great seasons and with his body intact. He had seen many teammates decimated by injuries like Mike Utley and Rodney Peete. He also has 5 kids I think.
Bar none, BEST RB EVER!! Not just his unmatched athletic ability, but unmatched character!! To be that good and extremely humble in the same token... Let's go political on this, why can't we find a candidate with his moral compass and world view?? Game over!! Miss you #20 The reason I love and HATE the lions!!
Kenneth Moore No slight on Jim Brown, but the quality of players he went up against was paltry compared to who Barry Sanders played against...and what he was able to do behind HORRENDOUS o-lines throughout his career in Detroit? Brown had power, but Barry had a level of elusiveness that’s yet to be matched, and was deceptively fast.
and you are stuck with the 'tons of lost yards', bro! You gotta remember, the total yards that sanders ran every season, that total ALREADY INCLUDED the lost yards. Thus your point is irrelevant.
SO GOOD to see him like this. He lived in my town and we would see him at Main Street Billiards just hanging out quite regularly. Just a normal guy. We always believed/heard around town that he retired "early" because he didn't want to be the guy they always seek out to comment on the latest greatest running back. He just loved the game itself. His answer @3:12 is telling. I think we think that every player wants to be on a winning team. But I think that many (including Barry) look at it as a fun job working for a big company (NFL) making good money doing what they love. Like, if you're an engineer working for GM at a facility in Ohio versus a facility in Texas, does it really matter as long as you are fulfilled, taken care of, and doing what you love to do? And I know that lesser-abled players are too busy just trying to hold onto their job at the facility in Ohio with younger workers coming up trying to knock them off every summer. Winning is just a bonus that means that everything came together correctly. But he seems perfectly content with how it went. And we loved him in Detroit.
Barry is such a good dude not to mention the fact that he was the best running back I've ever seen on a Football Field.. High School, College or NFL...
Pay attention kids, this is how a man should act: Silent, humble, kind, yet STRONG (when he needs to be.) Forget the GAME of the NFL for a second, Barry Sanders epitomizes everything it means to be a TRUE MAN.
I love Barry Sanders. I watched during his entire career. I have seen countless highlight films of him to this day. His humility, decency, fine personality, hard work & football talent have impressed me immensely. I would love to just hang out with him for a weekend. It is good to see such a great person be a high achiever.
Barry is the untilmate SECURE athlete who doesnt need records and rushing titles to reassure himself that he's the best,,if you saw him, you already know that too...The Okoye story reminds me of Larry Bird, who was once within a whisker of a quadruple double in a Celtic blowout. While sitting on the bench, he was informed of his statline and asked if he wanted to go back in to try for the very rare quadruple double, and Larry said, 'No...I've already done enough damage'
@Joe Johnson I don't knock people who go back in to set records. However, it's less obnoxious if it happens during the flow of the game. I wouldn't have knocked Barry for the Rookie record. But I guess once he was told, he knew it would be kinda artificial? Same happened, with the AT Rush record.
What a great running back. Went to college with this guy and what fun it was to watch him play. Wow, well spoken, articulate, well adjust man with humility. Really like this guy.
+John Cun You have a great perspective to even say this. Barry is who teams game planned against. He was the franchise. He basically kept that team in Detroit.
Wow. What a humble, intelligent, and thoughtful Man. Who happens to also be Barry Sanders arguably the greatest running back of all time who just stopped playing before he would have broken all the records. He KNOWS how good he was/is .. yet he doesn't seem to need to validate himself through stats etc. AKA: He's a rare,.. SECURE person in this world. More than I can say for myself :)
What an articulate guy. Speaks so clearly and so humble. What a good dude. Read a funny story years ago. Some guys in the locker room were giving Barry shit about his old car and when they brought it up he said he wanted to spend money on remodeling his kitchen. But a few days later he came in and said he got a new car. So they all ran out there looking for a Lamborghini or Ferrari and they said where is it and he pointed to a 5 year old Jaguar and said here it is. They said this ain’t new and he said it’s new to me. Which is why he could retire early.
I sat across from Mr. Sanders on his flight from Atlanta to Detroit to announce his retirement. I did not say a thing because I felt he'd had enough perfect stangers treating him like they knew him. I was kinda stunned at how small he looked... except for his legs. As a soccer fan I wished he's played that sort. He would have been a US Pele.
One of the truest gentleman in the history of the game and there are few. Never spiked the ball after scoring always tossed the ball to the ref. Cool dude!
Assume you don't know who this man is or how he got on the DP show. You would never guess that his is a legendary All-Time Great athlete by simply listening to the man talk. If you heard this, then watched Barry Sanders highlights, the only clue one would have that it's the same guys is the simple ref handoff after every touchdown.
A class act! It’s a shame his father publicly never held him in high regard. The person that mattered the most always put him third even during Barry’s Hall of Fame induction.
All of that success and being called the greatest and not to mention getting the highest contract at the time in the NFL to never have a ego is priceless I strive to be this humble
Sanders is not only a legend, but he achieved that cult following that other players dream of. He’s the OG secret/hidden character in video games. I don’t want to shit on the rest of the team, but Barry made you believe a single man can carry a football team.
DameunPutazo I believe if Wayne Fontes stayed on- Barry would’ve stayed. I think he knew Ross was going to try to build a big “in between the tackles” running game. And that wasn’t Barry’s style. I firmly believe he would’ve stayed if Fontes was still coach.
Best, most polite, best moves, no showboating, football player that ever played the game. Even when my team was playing, if the Lions were also playing , I would switch back & forth to try & catch one of his amazing runs. Broke my heart when he retired.
